Astronaut Thomas Pesquet: ‘Earth is just a big spaceship with a crew. It needs looking after’

A stint in space showed the ESA astronaut Earth’s fragility – and convinced him international cooperation is urgently needed

As divisions between them widen on Earth, space must be where countries show they can work together for a common good, France’s best-known astronaut has said in a powerful plea for international cooperation beyond the final frontier.

“From up there, the Earth seems so small, so tiny, so … the same,” said Thomas Pesquet, who spent 196 days, 17 hours and 49 minutes in space on the 50th and 51st expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS), returning in June last year.